The News Agents

A letter sent from Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was intercepted by our very own Lewis Goodall before it was ever made public. In it, she sets out her reasons for ditching Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries' plan to privatise Channel 4. Cue sighs of relief at Channel 4 and howls of frustration from a previous culture secretary who saw her own work being undone. We discuss what the move says about this government's direction of travel - and take in Rishi Sunak's first big speech of 2023.Also - what on earth is going on in the US Congress? Absolute scenes as the Republicans struggle to complete the first and fundamental act of Congress: the formality of choosing a Speaker of the House.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

4 Jan 202337min

For months - maybe years - we've talked about the NHS being at breaking point. 'On the brink'. 'On the edge'. Is it not time to admit the system itself is now broken? Today, we hear your experiences -our News Agents - with stories from the NHS frontline. The surgeon who tells us cupboards are now being used as examination cubicles because there are no beds and no privacy on the wards. The sister of an ill family member who watched a man suffering all the symptoms of a stroke in A and E with no one around to help him. How much of this comes down to funding? How much to decline? How much to a failure of social care to pick up where the emergency services leave off? We discuss...Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithPlanning: Alex BarnettProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

3 Jan 202331min

Emily, Jon and Lewis review 2022; at home and abroad. You know about the prime ministers and the monarchs and the presidents, but what’s going on beneath the headlines this year? The News Agents discuss a realignment in politics over the course of the last six months and ask if a new normalisation is here to stay. Does anything about how this year is ending presage what is to come in 2023?Plus - listener questions and some more special 'guest' appearances.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

28 Dec 202236min

For the first time since 2019 Christmas is looking “normal “. What have we learnt from Covid, the food crisis and the evolution of how and what we consume?Emily and Jon talk to two of the most famous chefs in the world about what’s on their mind this Christmas.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Dino SofosExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

22 Dec 202224min

Emily, Jon and Lewis review 2022; at home and abroad. They talk Ukraine, Partygate, and having a fresh start. Part 2 out next week! Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

21 Dec 202233min

Nearly two years on from the January sixth riots, a cross-party committee is uncompromising in its findings: Donald Trump assisted in insurrection, obstruction, conspiracy to defraud and deceive. Now it’s over to the US Department of Justice. Will they make criminal charges against a president for the first time in the country's history? And what happens to the Republican Party and its leaders now? Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

20 Dec 202225min

Today, the UK High Court ruled that the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful. Don't expect flights to Kigali filled with asylum seekers to take off tomorrow though; they'll be plenty of appeals and cases will need to be considered case by case. And Jon and Lewis are joined by Suzanne Lynch, of POLITICO, and Nigel Gardner, formerly a European Commission spokesman. They talk Qatargate - the cash for access scandal rocking Brussels.Socials: Georgia FoxwellVideo: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Dino SofosFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

19 Dec 202233min

Liz Truss' leadership was marred by chaos. Now, Asa Bennett, her speechwriter is in News Agents HQ, to lift the lid on the rollercoaster 49-day Truss premiership. And Lewis is joined by comedian and host of The Political Party and British Scandal podcasts Matt Forde to digest Labour's overnight by-election win and the state of the Labour party at the moment. Video: Will Gibson-SmithProduction: Gabriel Radus Deputy Editor: Tom HughesExecutive Producer: Ellie CliffordFor exclusive daily videos from The News Agents visit Global Player: https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/You can watch our interviews in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

16 Dec 202237min